TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: ASTRONOMICAL!

Attention Stargazers! Today's TOURBUS post will be about Astronomy.
If you're an amateur astronomer, or just enjoy the night sky, you'll
like the links and commentary in today's issue.

BLAST OFF...

Our first stop along the celestial highway is the "Astronomy Picture
of the Day". This site features a high quality image with a
description of its significance, written by a professional astronomer
in clear, easy to understand terms. Recent images (as of this
writing) were of the Missoula Crater on Mars and comets Bradfield and
LINEAR. If you miss one, don't worry, there's an extensive archive
going back several years.

The Hawaiian Astronomical Society has created a SPECTACULAR
astronomical Web site called "Views of the Solar System". The site
tells you EVERYTHING you could ever want to know about most of the
astronomical objects in our solar system, gives information about
the history of astronomy and space travel, and offers stunning
pictures and movies from around the Solar System.

In a similar vein, The Nine Planets is an overview of the history,
mythology and current scientific knowledge of each of the planets
and moons in our solar system. Each page has text and images, some
have sounds and movies, and links to related information.

And finally, some Bad Astronomy. This website is dedicated to
righting wrong ideas about astronomy and scientific misconceptions
spread by movies, the media and popular culture. Phil Plait, a
real-life astronomer, debunks common myths such as Hoagland's Face
on Mars, the Apollo Moon Hoax and everything you've always wanted
to know about Standing an Egg on End During the Vernal Equinox .

Ever throught about joining an Astronomy Club? Clubs frequently
offer discounts on astronomy related magazines and other printed
material, loaner telescopes, and practical advice on how to get
started in the hobby of Astronomy. Check out this list of clubs
which covers the whole world:

If you're USENET savvy, you could try reading sci.astro.amateur.
Here, amateur astronomers from all over the world, some with a wealth
of expertise, hang out, ask questions and discuss diverse astronomy
topics. Quite a few of the posts deal with purchasing the right
astronomical telescope or the right equipment to go along with it.
This newsgroup is also another source of late breaking news, on
comets, meteor showers, and aurorae.

Newsgroup - news:sci.astro.amateur

By the way, there is a nifty web-based interface to Usenet created
by the folks at Google -- no special software required.